Tile Separator

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a tile separator for uniformly aligning and separating successive tiles while they are being positioned on, and secured to a surface. The separator comprises: a flat body ( 1 ) having two parallel horizontal surfaces; at least one first pair of separating feet ( 2 ) which are aligned along a first horizontal direction (D 1) and which project vertically from the flat body, having a thickness that defines the distance between consecutive tiles; and at least one horizontal recess ( 3 ) defined in the flat body ( 1 ), oriented in a direction perpendicular to the first direction (D 1) and defining at least one respective bending line on the flat body ( 1 ). The aforementioned horizontal recess ( 3 ) defines at least one central portion ( 11 ) and two end portions ( 12 ) which, depending on the degree to which the aforementioned flat body is bent, are arranged either coplanar with one another or such as to form a variable angle there between.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The invention refers to a tile separator aimed at being positionedintermediate to the corners of the tiles, facilitating the alignment ofthe same during its installation on a surface, as well as the definitionbetween the tiles of separation grooves with a uniform width.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This tile separator is applicable to the building industry andparticularly to the installation of ceramic tiles for covering surfacessuch as walls or floors.

STATE OF THE ART

At present, tile separators are known for ceramic tiles having mainlyseparating feet aimed at being located in the area in which four tilesconcur, ensuring the alignment by pairs of the tiles and the definitionbetween the tiles of separation grooves with a given width.

Such separators are located intermediate to the corners of thesuccessive tiles on occasion of the tiles being installed on a flatsurface or support substrate, so that the four separating feet belocated between the pairs of tiles formed by the four tiles whichcorners converge towards a common point.

However, these separators which have four crosswise feet cannot be usedwhen it is desired to lay the tiles with offset joints, that is so thatthe joints formed by the successive tiles of a row of tiles are notaligned with those of the following row of tiles.

When the work has to be done on surfaces which have differentinclinations or which are arranged in different planes, said separatorscannot be located between the tiles to be installed in the transitionarea or area having a change of inclination to guarantee its alignmentand the uniformity of the separation.

The document WO01/12918A1 describes a pattern of rectangular tilessecured to a substrate by means of a layer of material, in which saidpattern has interstices between the adjacent corners of four tiles, saidpattern including a plurality of separators for the tiles located in thecorresponding interstices of the pattern, each separator including fourfront portions, separated by 90°, which are interposed between thecorresponding adjacent faces of the tiles including as well a rearportion which is interposed between the substrate and each of the tilesadjacent to the interstice.

This type of separator does not solve the above cited problem and itcannot be retrieved for reuse as the rear portion of the same remainsretained between the substrate and the tiles or ceramic elements securedon the substrate.

The document US2004/0250435 describes a separator for tiles having asupport portion adapted to be superimposed by means of a bottom contactsurface on the exposed face of one or more tiles and a plurality offirst individual separators projecting from the lower support surface ofthe separator.

Each one of the first separating elements is separated from the othersand has opposing surfaces which are adjacent to the opposing surfaces ofthe adjacent tiles, to separate the tiles to each other.

A general problem arising from the use of tile separators is thedifficulty to carry out a precise location of the tiles in the area inwhich the corners of various tiles concur, given the fact that theseparator itself prevents the observation by the operator of the area inwhich the tiles concur.

The only solution which has be proposed to circumvent the above drawbackis the approach disclosed by the document US2004060184 describing aseparator for tiles which can be reused and which has double width, forthe alignment, separation and pressing of the tiles. This separator hasan horizontal body with an open central part to permit the visual accessto the corners of the tiles, having as well a plurality of vertical legsdistributed around the same.

None of the above prior documents solves the above cited problem and noseparator has been developed which may be arranged between tiles on twoconverging surfaces forming an angle or having different inclinations,if in order to maintain the continuity of the alignment and theseparation of the tiles of both surfaces; permitting at the same time acorrect observation of the area in which the tiles concur by theoperator carrying out the installation, without needing the body of theseparator to have a window or an open central part which would weakenthe element.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The tile separator which is the object of this invention haspeculiarities in its construction which, apart from permitting theseparation of adjacent tiles during its installation on a flat surfaceand permitting its removal and reuse after the tiles have been securedon the surface to receive them, permits to carry out the separation andto keep the alignment of pairs of adjacent tiles independently from thefact that the joints of subsequent rows of tiles be aligned, orlaterally offset or that the rows of tiles should be installed onsurfaces which form different angles, for example, 90°, in case thatsaid surfaces are a wall or floor of a room, or other angles in case ofsurfaces with different inclination to each other.

The tile separator of the invention which may be used for the alignmentand uniform separation of successive tiles during its installation andfixation on a substrate, has a flat body with two parallel horizontalsurfaces and at least a first pair of separating feet aligned in a firsthorizontal direction, perpendicular to the flat body, verticallyprotruding in respect at least to one of the horizontal surfaces of theflat body and having a thickness which determines the separation betweensuccessive tiles.

Said flat body has at least an horizontal recess perpendicularlydirected to the first horizontal direction defined by the first pair ofseparating feet, defining at least a folding line of said flat body,said horizontal recess in the horizontal body delimitating at least twoend portions bearing the separating feet of the first pair of tiles,which according to the degree of bending of said flat body arecoplanarly arranged or form a variable angle to each other.

The definition in the flat body of at least one horizontal recessoriented as above described permits the separator to be folded by thefolding line on the same, so that the separating feet forming the firstpair of feet are kept aligned and may be introduced betweencorresponding pairs of tiles located on adjacent surfaces, converging toeach other or having different inclinations, ensuring its alignment andthe uniform separation between them.

According to the invention, the separator has a second pair ofseparating feet aligned in a second horizontal direction perpendicularto the first horizontal direction and keeping the same distance inrespect to the separating feet of the first pair of feet.

In this case, the flat body of the separator has at least two horizontalrecesses perpendicular to the first horizontal direction, and arrangedon the opposed sides of the separating feet of the second pair of feet,in a form that said horizontal recesses delimitate on the flat body: acentral portion having the separating feet of the second pair of feetand two end portions having the separating feet of the first pair offeet and that, according to the degree of folding of said flat body arearranged coplanarly or forming a variable angle between them and inrespect to the central portion.

This arrangement of the horizontal recesses which are offset in respectto the center of the flat body permits, by means of the folding of theseparator only by one of the horizontal recesses, that one of theseparating feet of the first pair of feet be located above the plane ofthe flat body, while the other three separating feet are kept coplanar,which permits the use of the separator in the installation of tileswithout coincidence of the joints, or with the joints forming the threelegs of a “T”.

By means of the folding of the flat body by the two horizontal recessesit is to be obtained that the central portion forms an ample chamferbetween the end portions having the first pair of separating feet; inthis way the second pair of separating feet is kept in a non-operativeposition within the angle formed by the projection of the end portions,which will coincide with the angle defined by the surfaces which are toreceive the tiles to be separated.

According to the invention, the separating feet vertically project fromthe two horizontal surfaces of the flat body, having in each of saidportions of the flat body a given thickness which is different from theother side portion, which permits the separator to define two differentseparations between the tiles, depending from its position of use.

Preferably, the separator of the invention adopts the form of a singlebody of plastic material with proper characteristics to permit itsrepetitive folding by the described recesses without breaking theseparator and maintaining the form taken by reason of the folding.

It is to be mentioned that the outline of the flat body may havedifferent geometrical forms (square, circular, lozenge shaped, etc.) andit may be continuous or alternatively it may have orifices in itssurface of any size and shape to reduce the width and the quantity ofmaterial needed for its manufacture.

Additionally, the separator of this invention has characteristicoriented to facilitate its installation and the observation of the areain which the tiles concur, so that the separator itself does not preventsaid observation and without needing to arrange any type of window inthe body of the separator or an open central portion in the same whichcould entail its weakening.

To solve this drawback in an embodiment the tile separator has thepeculiarity that the whole separator is conformed in a transparentplastic material which permits to observe the area in which the tilesconcur, located under the separator, and in consequence to facilitateits proper location and use.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description and with the purpose to facilitate theunderstanding of the characteristics of the invention, some drawings areannexed to this description to show in a illustrative non-limitativeform as follows:

FIG. 1, a perspective view of an embodiment of the tile separatoraccording to the invention with two pairs of separating feet aligned inperpendicular directions.

FIG. 2, a plant view of the tile separator arranged intermediate to thecorners of four coplanar tiles, establishing the alignment andseparation among them.

FIG. 3, a side view of the separator of the above figures in theposition of use of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4, a plant view of the tile separator of the above figures foldedby one of the horizontal recesses, establishing the separation withthree of the separating feet of three tiles arranged with offset joints.

FIG. 5, a cross section along A-A′ of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6, a side view of the separator of the previous figures folded bythe two horizontal recesses defined in the flat body of the same andwith the separating feet of the first pair of feet establishing theseparation of a corresponding pair of tiles installed on perpendicularsurfaces.

FIG. 7, a perspective view of an embodiment of the tile separatoraccording to the invention with two pairs of separating feet aligned intwo perpendicular directions, the whole separator being conformed in atransparent plastic material.

FIG. 8, a top plant view of the tile separator of FIG. 7 located amongthe corners of four tiles coplanarly arranged, establishing thealignment and separation of the tiles and permitting the visualobservation of the area in which the tiles concur trough the transparentbody of the separator.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In the embodiment shown in the annexed drawings, the tile separator hasa flat body (1) with a first pair of separating feet (2) alignedaccording to a first direction (D1) and perpendicular to said flat body(1).

Said separating feet (2) protrude from the flat body (1) defining anupper less thick portion (21) and a lower thicker portion (22), whichpermits the separator to define between the tiles (B) two separationdistances depending from its laying position.

The flat body (1) has two horizontal recesses (3) perpendicular to thedirection (D1) defined by the first pair of separating feet (2)conforming two folding lines in the flat body (1); said recessesdelimitate in the flat body (1) a central portion (11) and two endportions (12) having the first feet (2).

In the example shown the separator has a second pair of separating feet(4) aligned according to a second direction (D2) perpendicular to thefirst direction (D1), being said separating feet (4) located to the samedistance in respect to feet (2).

Said separating feet (4) project vertically from the flat body (1)defining an upper portion (41) and a lower portion (42) with differentthicknesses and respectively coinciding with the upper and lowerportions (21, 22), of the first pair of separating feet (2).

As may be observed in FIGS. 2 and 3, the device permits to alignsubsequent and coplanar tiles (B) by the introduction of the feet (2, 4)between said tiles, determining a broader or narrower separation betweensaid tiles (B), depending on the introduction between said tiles of theupper less thick portion (21, 41) or the lower thicker portion (22, 42)of the separating feet (2, 4).

As is to be observed in FIGS. 4 and 5, by means of the folding of theseparator by one of the horizontal recesses (3), it is to be obtainedthat one of the separating feet (2) of the first pair of feet be locatedabove the plane of the flat body, permitting the use of the other threeseparating feet (2, 4, 4) to define the separation between the threetiles (B) installed with offset joints.

As is to be observed from FIG. 6, by means of the folding of theseparator by the two horizontal recesses (3), it is to be obtained thatthe end portions (12) of the flat body (1) form different angles betweeneach other and with the central portion (11) and that the separatingfeet (2) of the first pair of feet be arranged between pairs of tiles(B) laying on converging surfaces, which form different angles betweeneach other, ensuring the adjacent tiles (B) of both surfaces to remainperfectly aligned and with the same separation.

Particularly in FIG. 6, the end portions (12) of the flat body (1)define an angle of 90° between each other permitting the introduction ofthe corresponding separating feet (2) between the tiles to be installedon two converging surfaces which form an angle of 90°.

In this folded position of the separator, the central portion (11) formsa chamfer, remaining the second pair of separating feet (4) in anon-operative position, separated from the tiles (B) without setting anyhindrance for the assembly of the tiles.

To make possible the alignment and separation of the tiles (B) locatedon two converging surfaces or surfaces with different degrees ofinclination, such as those shown in FIG. 4, the separator may have onlya first pair of separating feet (2) and a sole horizontal recess (3)arranged in this case centrally to permit its folding.

In the variant shown in FIG. 7, the separator is made out of atransparent plastic material which permits, as shown in FIG. 8, thatduring its use, the area in which the tiles to be separated concur maybe observed trough the separator itself.

Particularly, in said FIG. 8 trough the transparent material of theseparator the corners may be observed of four tiles (B) separated andaligned uniformly by the separating feet (2, 4) of the separator, beingsaid separating feet arranged between said tiles (B).

1. Tile separator for the alignment and uniform separation of successivetiles during its installation and fixation on a surface consisting of: aflat body (1) with two horizontal parallel surfaces; at least one pairof separating feet (2) aligned in a first horizontal direction (D1),perpendicular to the flat body (1), projecting vertically at least inrespect to one of the horizontal surfaces of the flat body (1), andhaving a thickness which determines the separation between successivetiles; at least one horizontal recess (3) defined on the flat body (1),oriented in a direction perpendicular to the first horizontal direction(D1) defined by the first pair of separating feet (2) and defining acorresponding folding line for said flat body (1); said horizontalrecess (3) delimitating on the flat body (1) at least two end portions(12) having the separating feet (2) of the first pair, which accordingto the degree of folding of said flat body (1) are coplanarly arrangedor forming a variable angle between them.
 2. Tile separator, accordingto the claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a second pair ofseparating feet (4) aligned in second horizontal direction perpendicularto the first horizontal direction (D1) and being located at the samedistance of the separating feet (2) of the first pair of feet; said flatbody (1) having at least to horizontal recesses (3) perpendicular to thefirst horizontal direction (D1) and arranged on the opposing sides ofthe separating feet (4) of the second pair of feet; said horizontalrecesses (3) delimitating in the flat body a central portion (11)bearing the separating feet (4) of the second pair of feet and two endportions (12) having the separating feet (2) of the first pair of feet,which according to the degree of folding of the flat body (1) arearranged coplanar or forming a variable angle between them and inrespect of the central portion (11).
 3. Tile separator, according to theclaim 2, characterized in that the separating feet (2, 4) verticallyproject in respect of the two horizontal surfaces of the flat body (1),having each side of the flat body (1) a given thickness which isdifferent than the thickness of the other side.
 4. Tile separator,according to claim 1, characterized in that it is formed in a sole bodyof plastic material.
 5. Tile separator, according to the claim 1,characterized in that it is formed in a transparent plastic material.